Please Tell Me It's a Dream

Cheonma's plan was simple.

The bracelets sealing the Kraken's eyes number six in total — and the whereabouts of five of them are known.

Approach the four remaining owners besides herself, secure their cooperation, and when the day comes, use all five to weaken the creature. Ideally they'd seal the sixth as well, but if it hasn't surfaced even now, the odds of finding it before the Great Cataclysm arrives are slim.

"Even so, a calamity with one eye unsealed is better than a calamity with all six open."

"Will the others actually cooperate?"

"Of course. Did you not cooperate yourself?"

"Well, cooperating was obviously the right call for me, but I don't think everyone will come that easily."

Players are people who play the game for fun and profit. So what happens when someone learns they hold one of only five Sealing Bracelets in existence among all users?

Not everyone, of course, but plenty would naturally demand a large share of the subjugation rewards — perhaps even more than they deserve. Some might go so far as to threaten to withhold their bracelet unless their demands were met.

And since the bracelets are soul-bound, they can't simply be taken by force — which only makes that kind of extortion more likely.

"Then we make them have no choice."

"You'd kill them? Killing them won't do anything, though."

Players are immortals. They die without dying, feeling neither pain nor the fear of death. Killing one a few times only inflicts a trivial loss — nothing that registers as serious risk.

Cheonma shakes her head as she looks at me.

Strictly speaking, she was looking at the camera.

"Those who received the mission to hold back the coming chaos yet refuse to act — I shall make them merit the righteous wrath of the Heavenly Demon Cult."

That would make them the enemy of a Cheonma grown strong enough to contest the rank 3 and 4 spots. Unless they were exceptionally powerful or sheltered by a major guild, their lives in Deoen from that point on would be severely constrained, that much was certain.

And also…

"You as well. You won't simply stand by, will you?"

"...Mm. I suppose not."

Proposing a deal in exchange for benefit was one thing — but actively trying to sabotage the subjugation itself?

That was fair game for a killing. Wanting to sit out and avoid losses was forgivable, but there was no reason to let live someone who tried to wreck everything for everyone.

That said, if they asked for a reasonable degree of support, I was willing to give it.

"Wanting compensation isn't a bad thing, after all."

"Simply contributing to the seal should be compensation enough, no?"

"They'll want a share of the spoils, sure. But that alone won't cut it."

I had no intention of forcing people to fight against annihilation under the banner of "the greater good." At the very least, they deserved fair compensation.

"...Though honestly, I feel like they'd just do it anyway."

A world boss subjugation that every user is watching. Anyone who owns one of these bracelets has to be someone who plays with real love for the game, and they'd go absolutely feral over a chain quest like this. Barring something unusual, there was a decent chance they'd step up on their own without anyone pressing them.

"Not all of them. Bandits of that ilk may in fact welcome the destruction."

"Bandits?"

"Indeed. For them, the collapse of the world's order and influence would only mean more to take."

"Hmm…"

"Bandits, huh… yeah, that's a real possibility."

If a bracelet ended up in a bandit's hands — or in anyone's hands who stood to profit from systemic collapse — it would be a serious problem. They'd want far more than whatever gains the subjugation itself offered. They might even, like Grim Reaper, exploit the chaos to swallow an entire kingdom.

First, we'd meet them. There didn't seem to be much point in arguing the merits before we'd even made contact.

"Who were you planning to see next?"

"I meant to meet 'that one' first, but they're offline… I suppose I shall meet another owner first. Let me see."

Cheonma closed her eyes, and the bracelet began to glow. She synchronized with it for a brief moment before opening her eyes again.

"Ija would be best."

"Who's that?"

"Someone you know quite well. This one may even be easier."

SHRAAAK!!

A greatsword shaped like an ink-black crescent moon carved clean through the monster. The bull-headed beast split in two and rolled across the ground in a shower of dirt.

Its killer hefted the greatsword onto his shoulder and gathered up the drops.

"Tch. Nothing worth having."

Rank 8, Vlack. Owner of a hidden class wielding a Mythic-grade greatsword, organizer of the Mock Siege Battle, guild master of Black Moon, popular streamer — the list went on.

Despite his mountain of titles and fame, he was hunting again today without even turning his stream on. Normally he'd have broadcast while hunting, or gone out with his guild members, but lately certain rankers had been climbing the rankings at an alarming pace.

Growth fast enough to threaten his seat at rank 8.

Vlack was working hard too, of course — the Academy, hunting, raid content — but the effort alone couldn't keep pace with the super rookies. Especially these days, the space between ranks 10 and 30 was reshuffled practically every other day.

"This much without even the Cataclysm hitting… no, wait — is this what it's like before the Cataclysm?"

It was confusing on every front, but Vlack simply ground out levels in silence. Higher levels made it easier to handle raids and whatever came next, and that in turn translated into prosperity for his guild and his stream. To him, Black Moon mattered more than anything.

Kugugung…!

"Guess I'll head out and check on the kids."

The labyrinth dungeon, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠which rebuilt itself every three days, collapsed and spat him out into the open air.

The situation in the world had grown complicated — prices and taxes were running absolutely rampant lately — but thanks to the influence Black Moon had planted across the kingdoms, the guild was still getting by, relatively speaking. Its leveling pace still lagged behind the other mega-guilds, though…

If that bastard Taebaek had been anything resembling normal, we'd have grown far more by now.

The reason he still kept a man he'd have thrown out ages ago — had Taebaek not been one of the founding members — wasn't purely sentiment.

He holds too many shares.

Taebaek was Black Moon's vice guild master, holding nearly thirty percent of the guild's stock. More than enough, if he wished, to steer the entire guild without Vlack. Guild shares had been distributed purely on the basis of contribution — which had sparked some controversy, but also meant he really had contributed that much.

"Honestly… hm?"

He tore a guild castle teleport scroll and returned to Black Moon — and immediately felt that something was off. A wildly chaotic atmosphere, and the sounds of a crowd.

Did someone come visiting?

"Hyung!"

"What? Who's here?"

"There's a fight! You need to come, right now!"

"What?"

A fight? Here? Dead center in the Black Moon guild castle? And on top of that, he could feel the aftermath of the Flute of the Abyss inside the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠castle walls — the Mythic-grade item that slashed an opponent's stats across the board. The one that bastard Taebaek owned.

"It's Taebaek, isn't it? I swear, I told him not to pull this crap again."

"No, I mean, it IS hyung. But he's not exactly the one… no wait, he is getting hit. He IS getting hit."

"What are you even saying. Where?"

"Right over ther—"

KWAAAAAANG!!!

Black shards exploded outward, and a familiar figure streaked past him before being smashed miserably into the wall.

"Ghhk…"

"Taebaek?"

It was Taebaek. As satisfying as the sight was, no one inside Black Moon could beat the man. For all appearances, Taebaek was a ranker inside the top 100, armed with above-standard equipment. And he'd even used the Flute of the Abyss.

Then who on earth—?

A presence. Beyond the shattered wall, a black martial uniform fluttered, and a moment later its owner drifted lightly down to land before him.

That uniform…

"Laying hands upon this venerable one's sacred body. How discourteous."

"...Cheonma-nim?!"

"It has been a long time, Vlack. Three years, was it not?"

"???"

Cheonma, out of nowhere?

He'd assumed she'd gone into seclusion three years ago — so what was this about, no, why had she attacked here? He wasn't even on hostile terms with her.

"What is the meaning of this?! You just stormed in out of nowhere!"

"My apologies. My original purpose was a simple conversation, but my hand moved before I knew it."

"...I'm sorry, what? Hold on a moment."

Was Cheonma always this strong?

In the past she had certainly been formidable, but compared to how far she'd come now, the Cheonma of back then had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the weaker one. Yet the aura radiating from the woman before him was overpowering — strong enough to leave him far behind.

A harmony so bizarre it felt almost uncanny.

What in the world happened in those three years?

"I know it's poor form to say this after barging in unannounced, but — do you not manage your guild officers?"

"...What did Taebaek do."

"He dared to place his arm around this venerable one's shoulder."

"Ha."

The man truly never changed. Just as he was despairing over how to clean up this mess, something like a doll sailed over the broken wall and came to stand neatly at Cheonma's side.

Blue hair, and…

"For the record, I never did that."

"Did you not strike me down once before? You must have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠learned your fear since."

"Well, Cheonma-nim, you were pretty scary."

"The me of the past was not so strong."

"...Lily-nim?"

???????

"Hello there!"

"...Do not tell me you are streaming right now."

"Yep."

"Please tell me this is a dream."

"It's reality."

"Ah."